One player truly deserves the Ballon d’Or - but no one is talking about him

Fabian Ruiz deserves the Ballon d’Or – so why is no one talking about him? Make us your Google favourite When the Ballon d’Or shortlist was published on Tuesday, it came with few surprises, and the list of subsequent favourites is even less of a shock: Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal leading the way. But the most deserving winner of the prize is the overlooked Fabian Ruiz , who achieved more over the course of the last season than any of his rivals. Indeed, if the voting was less a PR battle and fought on meritocratic grounds, the PSG midfielder would stand clear of his peers - and by some distance. This, after all, is a midfielder who won a clean sweep of club and national titles last season, including the Champions League and World Cup, and had to battle back from the adversity of a three-month knee injury to become a key player in the closing weeks of the campaign. Ruiz, though, is overlooked due to his role as a central midfielder. With four goals and six assists over the course of 2025/26, he did not do anything flash, yet his importance at key moments is highlighted by his coaches. Luis Enrique picked the 30-year-old ahead of Warren Zaire-Emery, a personal favourite of the manager, to start in the Champions League final against Arsenal, while his importance to Spain in the World Cup grew as the tournament progressed. He forced his way into Spain’s starting XI for the quarter-final against Belgium, scored and was then never out of the side. Lamine Yamal, a more media-friendly candidate than the understated midfielder, failed to notch a goal or assist across La Roja’s five knockout games. Fabian Ruiz gets Luis Enrique’s support for Ballon d’Or With no one else publicly talking about him as a potential Ballon d’Or winner, Fabian Ruiz has started to push his own case. “It would be an honour for me to be able to lift the Ballon d'Or,” he told Telefoot (via Ouest France ). “With the trophies, physically and in my game, I'm at the best point in my career. “At the team level, I've won everything. Individually, on a global scale, the only title I'm missing is the Ballon d'Or, to be recognised by everyone.” This opinion has been echoed by Luis Enrique , who was captured on social media at PSG training, hailing the No.8 between exercises, reeling off his compatriot’s achievements: “World Cup, Euros, back-to-back Champions League titles, Nations League… Ballon d’Or!” Braced for disappointment Of course, no one seriously believes that Fabian Ruiz will receive such recognition. Steady midfield brilliance is rarely a substitute for flashy goals, assists or dribbles in such votes. This is particularly the case given he is flanked by Vitinha and Joao Neves at PSG, and Rodri with Spain, with this trio often hoovering up the plaudits. His rise, meanwhile, is similar to that of Jorginho, who enjoyed a bounce in prominence late in his career, specifically after leading Italy to European Championship glory in 2021. He would finish third behind Lionel Messi, Fabian Ruiz’s PSG team-mate at the time, and Robert Lewandowski. Ruiz does not have the weight of the Premier League media pushing him even to those heights, suggesting that one of the all-time seasons of personal achievement will be pushed into the shade behind those less deserving. Such is the frustrating nature of individual awards in a team sport.